What we know fondly as the “Stars and Stripes” was adopted by the Continental Congress as the official American flag on June 14, 1777, in the midst of the Revolutionary War. Colonial troops fought under many different flags with various symbols and slogans—rattlesnakes, pine trees, and eagles; “Don’t Tread on Me,” “Liberty or Death,” and “Conquer or Die,” to name a few. The first flag had 13 stars on a blue field and 13 alternating red and white stripes for the 13 original colonies. Now there are 50 stars, one for each state in the Union, but the 13 stripes remain. Although many people believe that Betsy Ross designed and sewed the first flag, there is no proof of that. Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, on the flag’s 100th birthday.
Question of the Day
What and where is the Trail of Tears?
As a result of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Native American tribes of the Southeast were driven from their homes and resettled on reservations in the West. Government troops escorted the Cherokee tribe west in the winter of 1838-39. Along the way, thousands of Cherokees died of exposure, exhaustion, and disease. Thus the march became known as the Trail of Tears.
Advice of the Day
Lemon juice sweetened with crushed sugar helps to relieve a cough.
Home Hint of the Day
Do not allow wooden objects to soak in dish water; they can crack.
Word of the Day
Hygrophobia
Fear of dampness/moisture
Puzzle of the Day
Two musical states. (Abbreviation of two U.S. states)
La and Mi
Died
Benedict Arnold(General in U. S. Revolutionary War)–
The Earl of Derby(Canadian Governor General 1888-1893)–
Mary Cassatt(painter)–
Peggy Ashcroft(actress)–
Henry Mancini(composer)–
Born
Harriet Beecher Stowe(writer)–
John Bartlett(American publisher, editor)–
Burl Ives(singer & character actor)–
Thomas J. Kelly(engineer, dubbed father of the lunar module)–
Donald Trump(businessman and 45th U.S. president)–
Eric Heiden(speed skater)–
Traylor Howard(actress)–
Steffi Graf(tennis player)–
Daryl Sabara(actor who starred as Juni Cortez in the Spy Kids movie series)–
Events
The United States Army was established–
Stars and Stripes adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States–
Isaac Fischer, Jr. patented sandpaper–
The Republic of Hawaii became a U. S. territory–
Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Whitten-Brown flew from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland, making the first successful nonstop transatlantic airmail delivery. The 16-hour flight ended the following day–
Pennsylvania became the first of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday–
US Atomic Energy Commission announced the discovery of the neutrino, an atomic particle with no electrical charge–
Discovery of the neutrino announced–
Ronald Reagan received honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II–
The New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, beating Vancouver, 3-2, in game 7 at Madison Square Garden–
Cows gathered around a just-fallen meteorite fragment in St. Robert, Quebec–
A tractor-trailer overturned on a highway in Bear Trap Canyon, Montana, spilling its load of hundreds of beehives and unleashing some nine million angry honeybees–
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck about 90 miles southwest of the coastal community of Crescent City, California, and 300 miles northwest of San Francisco–
Weather
Flash flood devastated Heppner, Oregon–
Downtown San Francisco, California, hit 106 degrees F–
Denver, Colorado, recorded a high temperature of 102 degrees F–
